Fool Me Once
by DeathandJunkfood
Summary: It's the Marauders' last April Fools' at Hogwarts, and their carefully laid plans are threatened when Lily begins to ask awkward questions about their nicknames... Part of the Falling 'verse.


_**Disclaimer... these characters belong to JKR.**_

* * *

 _ **A.N. This takes place in my Falling 'verse, but you don't need to read any of the other stories to read this one. (But do it anyways - I'll send you biscuits.)  
**_

 _ **I wrote this to post on April Fools' and then I ... forgot. So here! Only ten days late!**_

* * *

"Leprechauns?"

"Leprechauns," Sirius confirmed. His fingers were drumming gleefully on the table, and he looked like he was having a hard time restraining himself.

James grinned back at him. "When?"

"April Fools' Day, obviously."

"Obviously."

They were sitting in the Great Hall, breakfasts untouched in front of them and the sky was a cheerful, melted crayon kind of blue. A little ways down the table, Lily was chatting idly to Camilla Lovegood, gesturing with a strawberry that was speared on the end of her fork. James watched her for a moment until Sirius snapped his fingers in front of his nose impatiently.

"Focus," Sirius said, sounding a bit put out. "Remus isn't here and Peter is studying – you're all I've got. So _concentrate._ Last April Fools' day at Hogwarts, remember? We have to go out with a bang."

"Bang," James repeated.

"Stop repeating everything."

"Sorry."

"S'fine. Anyways. April Fools' morning, we place boxes of leprechauns all over the school. We also preform Switching Spells on the leprechaun gold and then the students' Galleons as well."

"That's devious," James said approvingly, taking a bite of his scrambled eggs. They were stone cold. "And then we release the leprechauns? Leprechauns don't cause much havoc on their own, though. Maybe some Cornish Pixies, too."

"Yes!" Sirius crowed, banging his fist on the table and making James' plate of eggs jump. "Perfect. I'll talk to my contact."

"You have contacts now?"

"Of course I do. I have a family of Dark Wizards, James. I know all sorts of fun people. I've had contacts since I was twelve."

"Right. I'll see you later, yeah? I'll figure out a pixie proof cage," James said, wiping his mouth on his napkin and standing to go.

"I'll send you a list of specifications," Sirius said, already starting to scribble on a scrap of parchment.

* * *

James found Remus in the library, poring over a book about leprechauns. He looked tired. The air in the library was cold and still, despite the warm golden breeze outside, and even the dust motes hung frozen and suspended.

"Did Sirius rope you in?" James asked, taking the seat next to him and stealing his book.

"'course he did. He _owled_ me James. In the library. Madam Totsy just about bit my head off. Apparently I'm head of – what was it?"

Remus picked up a scrap of parchment from beside his schoolbag. "'Leprechaun and pixie wrangling'."

"Pixies are horrid little shits," James said, shuddering. "I'm almost sorry for suggesting them."

"That was _you_?"

"Last April Fools' at Hogwarts, Moony."

Remus scowled at him, and James reached out to ruffle his brown hair affectionately. Remus swatted his hand away, still scowling.

"I hate pixies, James."

"I know," James said pleadingly. "But it'll be fun! Get Peter to help, he likes them."

"Peter's mad."

"Well, yeah. Use it to your advantage. I have to go."

"Say hi to Lily for me," Remus said, taking his book back from James and turning the page.

"Sure."

* * *

"No," Lily said flatly, glaring at James.

James felt a flutter of panic. He hadn't _really_ thought Lily would like the idea, but he'd thought he would be able to convince her.

"Lily-"

"No leprechauns, James. No pixies. No Switching Spells. We sit our NEWTs in a month!"

They were sitting by the lake, shoes kicked off and feet dangling in the water. The hem of James' trousers were getting a bit damp, but he ignored it. It was really too cold to be wading, but the water had numbed their feet enough that they didn't really notice it.

Lily kicked her foot out at James', sending ripples dancing and light refracting across her face.

"What if I let you help us?" James said, holding his breath.

Lily paused, and turned her head to meet his eyes. Her hair was down, and tangled messily, and she had a smear of ink on one cheek. There were bags under her eyes, but her eyes glittered at him sharply.

"Really?" she asked, sounding almost pleased.

"Really! You could help with… pixie wrangling!"

"I hate pixies."

" _Everyone_ hates pixies," James told her earnestly, reaching into the water to take her hand. It was cold, and she laced her fingers with his.

He was still getting used to that, to being able to hold Lily's hand, and kiss her, and hold her, and sit hip to hip with her, her head tilted onto his shoulder, her hair spilling down his shirt.

"They're nasty buggers," Lily agreed, pulling their linked hands out of the water and resting them between them.

"Switching Spell management?" James offered.

Lily tapped her lip with a finger.

"Alright," she said finally, starting to grin at him. "I'll do it."

"You're not worried about getting in trouble? As Head Girl, I mean."

Lily shrugged. "We have what – three months left? I'll be fine. And if it comes to it, I'll blame you lot."

She started to smirk a little bit at James' indignant expression.

James lifted his free hand to cup her cheek, and she leaned in to kiss him, pulling their hands apart to wind her hand around the back of his neck. Cold water from her fingers dripped down his spine, but he didn't notice it, lost in kissing Lily Evans.

* * *

 _April 1_ _st_ _, 1978_

Peter was gritting his teeth as he struggled with a large cardboard box. It would jerk up and down and sideways every so often, and it gave a particularly large wriggle just then, almost yanking itself out of his arms. Lily caught it.

"James, your pixie containment management system is terrible," Sirius told him, busy making notes on a clipboard. "This'll go on your evaluation."

"My _evaluation_? Are you _insane_?"

Sirius waved his quill at James severely. "This is our last prank at Hogwarts, Prongs! If we get upstaged next year by some upstart third year Hufflepuffs with a few boxes of banana cream pies, I want to know where we went wrong."

"I'll have you know that this box worked fine for Katherine the Kappa, Padfoot," James informed him.

Lily seemed to be watching the two of them, torn between frustration and bemusement.

"Do I ever get a nickname?" Lily asked finally, as James and Sirius started a staring contest. "And you lot never told me the story behind the nicknames. James just said it was a long story, once. And the map – why does that map that James showed me have your nicknames instead of your real names?"

James broke Sirius' gaze and looked at Lily. He wasn't sure what to say. He'd known, of course, that he'd have to tell her one day. That he couldn't lie about this forever. But it had never really been his story to tell. He glanced at Remus discreetly, and felt his stomach drop.

Moony was pale and panicked looking, watching Lily with something close to fear.

"Honestly," Peter said, a little too loudly. "I don't think _we_ even know the story. We came up with them in like, second year, something about our astrological signs-"

"Peter," Remus said quietly. "It's ok."

Peter shut up, and James took the pixie box out of Lily's arms, setting it on the ground.

They were in one of the smaller secret passages, (that they'd only shown Lily after swearing her to secrecy) and James took a deep breath.

"Maybe we should all sit down," he suggested, and Remus nodded. Lily just looked puzzled.

* * *

"Ok," Lily said, an hour later. She didn't look too angry, which James hoped was a good sign.

Throughout the entire explanation, she had been silent and intent, eyes fixed on whoever was speaking. They had been startlingly sharp.

"So – Remus. You're a werewolf."

"Yes," Remus said, looking down. He had gone pale again.

James shot a sideways glance at Lily, and her expression had shifted completely. Her eyes were soft, and there was a sad little smile on her face.

"Hey," she said, and Remus looked up. "We're good," Lily said simply, reaching out to pat his shoulder.

"We're-?"

"Fine. Good. Dandy. Remus, you've been my friend for seven years. If you honestly thought that _this_ would push me away, you're not as smart as I always thought."

The colour came back to Remus' face and he looked slightly shaky for a second. "Lily – thank you. You're – thank you."

Lily smiled at him, but then she turned to James and she looked furious. James leaned back a little bit.

"As for you," she said, eyes narrowed a bit, "I'm very irritated right now. You _lied,_ James. I straight up asked you once – remember? If you were an Animagus?"

"Right," James said, staring at his feet. He had to force himself to meet her eyes. They were burning.

Sirius picked up the pixie box and started to sidle away. "Moony? Wormtail? Let's – erm – give them some privacy."

The other two hastily followed him out.

"It was never my secret to share," he said quietly, once they were gone. "I had to protect Remus."

James was willing her to understand and he saw the second she did, when something shifted in her eyes and the wall behind them came down. She had been getting better at that, lately. At calming down and taking his words at face value. Lily wasn't angry, James realized. She was hurt. Hurt that he'd lied, hurt that he hadn't trusted her.

"I understand," Lily whispered. "I do, really. I'm just – I dunno. I wish you'd trusted me sooner."

"I did! I wanted to tell you the minute we started to try. I wanted to tell you when I managed it for the first time. I wanted to tell you when you asked me. I wanted to tell you _every single day_ , Lily, but it wasn't my trust that mattered. It was Remus'."

"Ok," Lily told him. "It's ok. You're forgiven, I understand. But – can I see it?"

"See what?"

"See you transform."

"Oh!" James realized. "Yeah, sure – I think I'll fit in here."

It was really quite a small passage.

He closed his eyes, and shifted. When he opened them again, Lily was very short seeming and staring up at him.

"So that's why," she murmured. "Your Patronus and mine."

She shook her head and whatever wonder in her face was gone quickly, leaving only a hint of amusement.

Her Patronus was a doe, James remembered. A lovely silvery creature that seemed to not quite fit Lily because it never burned as bright or as fierce as her.

James dipped his head and she raised one hand, resting it on his neck.

"Cool," Lily said. "But you'd better change back – the sun's starting to come up."

* * *

"Take this," Sirius ordered, shoving a pair of small boxes into his hands when he emerged. "And Lily, you take this."

Lily accepted a small device with a button on top.

"What does this do?" she asked, finger coming dangerously close to the button.

"No!" Peter yelped. "That releases them!"

Lily moved her finger away hastily.

Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved a deep, put upon sigh.

"We're behind schedule, people. Lily and Remus – you'll be distributing the boxes on the fourth to seventh floors. James, Peter and I will be doing the first to third floors. Remember – whoever's finished first will send a Patronus to the other team. Once everyone's awake, Lily and I will start the Switching Spells. It's a Hogsmeade weekend, so there'll be money bags in profusion."

"Got it," James said, juggling his two boxes. One was marked with a large 'L' and the other with a 'P'. They hadn't wanted to put the pixies and leprechauns together.

Sirius clicked his timer to start it. "I will see you all back here in … fifteen minutes and thirty two seconds."

* * *

"Do you really still want to be friends with me?" Remus blurted as he hid a pixie box behind a tapestry depicting a riotous goblin wedding.

Lily stashed a leprechaun box on top of a statue's head.

"Of course – did you really think I wouldn't?"

Remus shrugged. "I dunno. James, Sirius and Peter… they were the first ones that knew. I didn't even tell them, Lily. They figured it out in our second year. I haven't had much experience trusting people, I guess."

Lily set down the rest of her boxes and gave him an impulsive hug.

"Remus," she said. "You're one of the best, bravest, kindest, smartest people I know. You've managed to keep James and Sirius from being kicked out of Hogwarts, more times than I really want to know about. So… you get a little hairy once a month. So do I during the winter when I don't want to shave my legs. This doesn't define you. It's not your fault, and I would _never_ stop being friends with you because of it."

Remus smiled shakily at her once she let go.

"Thank you, Lily."

"Welcome."

Lily picked her boxes back up and they continued down the hallway, the sun just starting to seep through the window, like a spilled jar of golden honey.

"Oi," Lily said, realizing something. "Is this what your mates meant when they talk about your 'furry little problem'?"

"Yep."

"Huh. Oliver Sands thinks you have a really naughty rabbit or guinea pig or something. He was telling me about it last week."

"Oh Merlin."

* * *

The Great Hall was the main target of the Marauders. Pixie and leprechaun boxes were secreted under the tables and benches, and one especially large one under the teachers' table.

"One bit through the box!" Peter yelped, shaking his injured hand furiously. He kicked the dropped box and it spun around, an angry buzz coming from it.

"I have some Pixie-Potion," Sirius said, hurrying over. "Those bites can get infected pretty easily."

He pulled a tiny spray bottle from his pocket and misted Peter's hand before returning to his work.

"We have five minutes," James told them, checking his watch.

"Done!" Sirius said, sticking the last box to the underside of the Slytherin table.

"I wonder how Moony and Lily are getting on," Peter mused. He sucked on his bitten finger for a moment, staring off at the tall, shadowy entrance.

"Lily took it better than I expected," Sirius said, moving to stand by Peter. James trailed after them. He hadn't really known how he'd expected Lily to react. He hadn't been planning to tell her for a while yet – it all seemed off in the very distant future. He hated it when she was mad at him.

"She was pissed off," James said morosely. "She was angry I hadn't told her before."

"Did she calm down?"

"After a bit."

"D'you wanna send the Patronus?"

"Alright," James said, pulling out his wand.

He thought of Lily and him sitting by the lake, leaning in, cold lake water dripping from their hands, Lily laughing softly against his mouth.

" _Expecto Patronum_."

The silver stag leapt from the tip of his wand and trotted round until it was face to face with James.

"To Lily Evans. We're all done. Meet you in the passage."

The stag bowed his head and cantered away, illuminating the dark corners of the hall for a single, splendid moment.

"Alright," James said, lowering his wand. "Let's go."

* * *

It was completely, gloriously chaotic. Leprechauns zoomed through the air in packs, sending gold shooting down in heavy showers, pixies tumbled through the hallways yanking books out of students' hands, pulling hair, throwing ink bottles, and ricocheting off the walls, and a few overwhelmed teachers tried to restore order.

The Marauders had also hung a large banner across the entrance to the Great Hall that read ' ** _HAPPY APRIL FOOLS', FOOLS'_**. The paint had been charmed to flash different colours and more than a few pixies and leprechauns flew straight into it, stunned by the bright colours.

Lily sighed in satisfaction as she poked her head out of the passageway to survey the situation.

"Y'know, six months ago I wouldn't have even considered this," she remarked, peering back over her shoulder.

"You probably would've tried to stick the lot of us in detention," James said thoughtfully, getting up to look out into the hallway. A howling Hufflepuff sprinted past, whacking pixies out of the air with a heavy book she held.

"Probably," she admitted. "But I'm glad you convinced me. Happy April Fools'."

James was still smiling at her when she flicked her wand and four large banana cream pies descended from the ceiling to smack the Marauders in their faces.

* * *

 ** _A.N. Thank you so much for reading! Please review!_**


End file.
